Between 1858 to 1947, British Crown rule had been widely spread throughout the nation affecting different aspects of Indian society which resulted in millions of death. Before the British has landed on the soil of India, India itself had a very rich history and especially, their entire population had the resources to feed their family and to also generate income. As an Indian Nationalist, I would like to condemn British rule which has caused such a massive destruction in India . The lead negative consequences that lead to on the economic breakdown, undermined Indian culture and vandalizing their political system. The British Raj had a huge significant impact from 1857-1947 which resulted in zero growth and created no opportunities for employment. India's share of the world income went from 27% in 1700 AD to 3% in 1950 (History of Indian Economy, Online; 12/8/17). Agriculture were produced for cash crop as suppose to food crops, causing more than 30 million lives due to starvation. In 1793, the British Governor-General Lord Cornwallis announced that India will undertake a land system called Zamindari, which peasants lost the rights of ownerships of their land (Sharma, Online; 20/8/17). Furthermore, the British East India Company introduced another land system called Ryotwari that was evolve within North-Eastern and North-Western that peasants weren’t and had to be responsible for paying up to 50% of land revenues (Encyclopaedia, Online; 13/8/17). This caused a significant
The mining industry also didn't help because it was taking 16 million tons of coal a year from the Indians (16). While the Indians lost their resources the English made off with a lot of money and India's resources. British imperialism had a positive impact on the economy of India because the British eliminated highway robberies, widow suicides and female infanticide. The British also brought English to Indians. Highway robbery was an extremely big problem in India causing people not to use the highways also widow suicide is when the husband dies the window will commit suicide along with the husband because women were seen as a useful and then the infanticide of female babies was when the parents would kill their female babies because they did not want to give the person who was to marry her any money(18).
“Englishmen.. have given the people of India the greatest human blessing - peace.” (Dutt). Merely coming to India in the 1600s to trade, the British East India Company established trading outposts. After ridding of French influence in India during the Seven Years’ War and having Indians mutiny against British rule, Britain gained full control of India. India has been under the imperialist control of the British until their independence in 1947. British imperialism caused some negative effects on India through poverty and persecution, but retained more of a positive impact due to its massive improvements in the modernization of India and the overall improvement of Indian civilization.
It became evident that the British could maintain the empire only at enormous cost. At the end of the Second World War, they saw the writing on the wall, and initiated a number of constitutional moves to effect the transfer of power to the sovereign State of India. For the first and perhaps the only time in history, the power of a mighty global empire 'on which the sun never set', had been challenged and overcome by the moral might of a people armed only with ideals and courage.
British imperialism had a negative impact on the politics and economics of india because the British were running the country for their own good and not for the good of the indians. In contrast the British had customs that ultimately ended up benefiting the Indians.
While the British set up the framework for India and claimed to peacefully transition India to independence. The British however did not include Indians and caused a lot of death. The British ultimately did more harm than good. British did set up India’s framework for things like the army, police, justice system and civil services (Lalvani). On the other hand the British did not include Indians in the framework. “Of 960 civil officers… 900 had been occupied by englishmen” (Doc 2). That is only about 7 percent that were actually Indian. This means the British did not let the Indians have a say in anything in their country because they had no representation and also they did not include Indians in the framework of their own country so when they gained independence they had to learn to govern themselves because the British had done it for them. Dr. Lalvani also claimed that the British made India's transition to Independence peaceful. That is a blatant lie. According
According to Dr. Lalvani, direct British rule led to more investments in building more roads, bridges, and railways. He also claims that both nations benefited by the trade routes and that the British help the Indians benefit from being imperialized because their railway system employs 1.6 million people. Although Dr. Lalvani makes the claim that the trains and railways are good and employs over a millions people even though the trains and railways were built in India to export all of India’s natural resources and beauty (doc 6). According to document 7, the food exports that were leaving for the British raised as India was dying of starvation. The British benefited more than the Indians because they had multiple increases in exports from India well the Indians were not allowed to sell any of the products plummeting their economy.
Imperialism is the domination of one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Imperialism is more often than not fueled by two major schools of thought known as nationalism and Social Darwinism. Nationalism is a feeling of pride and devotion to one’s country. This can drive a person to think that their country is the most powerful, and in essence drives that person mad with power and a hunger to conquer, which not ironically is exactly what many countries did. Social Darwinism is the very idea that a more powerful country conquer the smaller countries. “Survival of the fittest,” as the well renowned Charles Darwin used to say. Imperialism is also sometimes sparked by military motives, such as when USA set up
From: Romesh Dutt, The Economic History of India Under Early British Rule Englishmen…have given the people of India the greatest human blessing – peace. They have introduced Western education. This has brought an ancient and civilized nation in touch with modern thought, modern sciences and modern life. They have built an administration that is strong and efficient. They have framed wise laws and have established courts of justice.
Britain had a desire to have a more economic, political, and social influence over India. Even though the British never preserved a notable military existence in India, they were able to maintain political control. Many changes were made, which benefitted India, but there were also some changes, which contributed to its deterioration. Despite the negative impacts Britain left on India, imperialism is best understood as a strong country extending its authority, in order to increase its wealth, by bringing more of the world under its control, because Britain helped in the development of India from a nation-state, to a unified country, which is modernly the world’s largest democracy.
In 1885, nationalist leaders organized the Indian National Congress who called for greater democracy which they felt would bring more power to themselves. Other Indian nationalists, took a more radical, anti-British stand. I believe this is positive because I feel that the first instance of British resistance was the first step towards independence. Negative effects of the imperialistic rule in India were that there was a rapid population growth , hence, there was a strain on the food supply, especially since farmland was turned into cash crops instead of food. They cleared new farmlands which led to massive deforestation and other environmental destruction. Also, in the late 1800s terrible famines swept India. The railroads could not carry food to the suffering areas, but overall, millions of Indian peasants sank deeply into poverty.
Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.
Many positive things happened during, and as a result of, the British colonization of India. When the East India Company took control of India in 1612, they began modernizing, westernizing, and industrializing India. This westernization included giving women more rights, an attempt to eliminate the caste system and the loss of many of the more backward Hindu religious beliefs such as the domination of women by men and denying an entire class of people any rights. British occupation also did things long term for India. The modern technology and western customs allowed India to become a burgeoning regional superpower. The colonization of India was helpful for India because it went a long way to modernize India, westernized India in
Decolonisation may have given a country its freedom but also caused isolation in society and mass emigration. The effects of decolonisation created many issues including economic uncertainty and a clash of beliefs leading to violent outbursts between religious groups. Although India benefitted from decolonisation in the long run, it has had an effect on the generations of Indian people growing up in Britain today who deal with the consequences on a daily basis. World War II was a changing point for Britain and led them to prioritise themselves over their colonies, which lead to the neglect of India and her people. India is only one example of how decolonisation created more problems than it solved after 1945, most of the British colonies experienced somewhat of similarities in their decolonisation. Although decolonisation had many negative effects on the country of India, their independence was an important milestone in history and solved many issues, including financial issues, Britain were facing after the
This period was one of major change in Indian life and culture. While the East
Colonization is a controversial matter. This is especially true when it comes to the British, who have colonized nearly every country (only 22 countries have not been settled by Britain). The British presence in India was one of the most controversial of all of their colonizations. Many believe it was positive for the country, others believe it was not. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives: Better infrastructure, Western education, and the British bringing political peace and order.